HANOI: Vietnam announced an end to quarantine for international travelers on Wednesday, as it seeks to restart its tourism industry after two years of strict COVID-19 restrictions.
The only virus requirement for visitors will be a negative coronavirus test, the country’s ministry of health said in a statement.
The communist state’s tourism sector was worth up to $32 billion a year before the pandemic, but it ground to a standstill during the pandemic as the government restricted travel.
Virus curbs have slowly been eased in recent months, with visitors trickling back in since November to play golf at resorts, under a bubble arrangement.
Vietnam also announced the resumption of 15 days’ visa-free travel for citizens from 13 countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Britain, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Belarus.
The country, which has a population of 97 million, is still reporting nearly 200,000 new COVID-19 cases a day as the omicron variant sweeps through.
But the health ministry says the situation “remains under control” with hospitalization and death rates staying low.
Officials attribute that to the high vaccination rate, with 98 percent of adults fully inoculated according to the health ministry.
The country is making efforts to roll out booster jabs to the population while preparing to vaccinate children and young teenagers.
Vietnam ends COVID-19 quarantine for international travelers
https://arab.news/bvr3h
Vietnam ends COVID-19 quarantine for international travelers
- Virus curbs have slowly been eased in recent months, with visitors trickling back in since November to play golf at resorts
- Vietnam also announced the resumption of 15 days’ visa-free travel for citizens from 13 countries
Russia condemns Qaddafi’s son killing, wants ‘thorough investigation’
- In 2021, prosecutors in Libya issued an arrest warrant for Seif Al-Islam over suspected ties to the Russian mercenary Wagner group, according to the BBC
MOSCOW: Russia on Wednesday condemned the killing of Seif Al-Islam Qaddafi, son of slain Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi, and called for a thorough probe into his death.
“We strongly condemn this crime. We hope a thorough investigation will be conducted and the perpetrators will be brought to justice,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
A lawyer who had been representing Seif Al-Islam told AFP the ex-leader’s son was killed by four unidentified attackers who stormed his house on Tuesday.
Libyan prosecutors said Wednesday they were investigating the killing and that forensic experts had been dispatched to Zintan in northwest Libya, where he was shot dead.
The 53-year-old had been seen by some as a potential successor to his father, who was toppled and killed in 2011 after a NATO-led military intervention.
In 2021, prosecutors in Libya issued an arrest warrant for Seif Al-Islam over suspected ties to the Russian mercenary Wagner group, according to the BBC. Wagner has since been disbanded and replaced with the state-backed Africa Corps.
He was suspected of having strong links with Russia.
